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Understanding Your Cost Per Study

What is your cost per study? It’s a simple question, and the answer may be higher than you think. There are multiple factors to consider when calculating an accurate cost. So how do you know? Let’s take a look:

Your cost per study is driven by six key factors:

  1. STAFF – What is your annual cost to employ your team
    of nuclear medicine technologists, cardiac stress technicians, billing and
    other support staff?
  2. EQUIPMENT – Consider your initial investment as well as
    the annual depreciation of your myocardial perfusion imaging system.
  3. MAINTENANCE – If you have a service agreement, include the
    annual cost. If not, calculate an average annual maintenance expense.
  4. LICENSING – What are your annual expenses associated with
    acquiring and maintaining all necessary licenses and certifications? How
    much is your annual spend on Radiation Safety Programs, as well as
    Radiation Physics Audits and Consultation?
  5. ACCREDITATION – If your practice is accredited, what was the
    cost of preparing for and now maintaining that accreditation?
  6. SUPPLIES – Include any initial and recurring cost of
    general medical supplies, radiopharmaceuticals, and pharmacological stress
    agents.

Add your initial investment (adjusted for depreciation) and ongoing annual costs and divide it by your annual study volume. The resulting number is your cost per study.

Are you surprised by your cost? Is it higher or lower than you expected? An outsourced nuclear imaging solution, like Digirad Select, may be a more cost-efficient option. Gathering your costs can be an intimidating task, but knowing your cost per study is a critical metric for any practice that provides imaging.

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